kat von d

After four seasons on the air, it was time for Kat Von D to say good-bye to her life in front of the camera on the series finale of 'LA Ink' (Thu., 10PM ET on TLC). She used the time to reflect on the crazy ride she's had over the past several years.

"I've definitely grown up a lot," she admitted before talking about dropping out of high school to become a tattoo artist at 16. "It was my calling."

"Looking back at the first season of 'LA Ink,' we had no idea it would even get to this level. I'm flattered that people are even still interested," she said. As for her future, she'll keep doing what she loves, equating tattooing to a life-long friend. "Aside from my family, it's the one thing that has stayed consistent."

It's important to do a thorough background check on any contractors you work with, but we're not sure Kat Von D would have found anything to warn her about Elvis on 'LA Ink' (Thu., 10PM ET on TLC).

She hired him to come in and put up some shelves, which is probably why the guys in the shop were all a little confused when he started swinging a sledgehammer into the wall. It took one of the guys physically wrestling the hammer from his hands before he would explain himself.

"You were saying you wanted shelves, but what I was really hearing was you want -- you've got this positive energy in this other room and this negative energy here, and I need to make this open for you," he explained. So that makes sense then.

Jesse James raced in the Baja 500, which is an eight-hour race. Kat Von D was there by his side, by which we mean chilling in the hotel and listening to the race on 'LA Ink.' (Thu., 10PM ET on TLC).

Before he went out there, though, he laid down a pretty bold statement. "If I win tomorrow, we're getting married on Sunday," he said. Kat agreed, but we kind of wonder if she agreed knowing it was unlikely he would win, and that he made the offer with the same thoughts.

James didn't win, which is why we suppose they're not married already, but he did finish quite respectably in seventh place. Top 10 is solid placement for anyone. So while they didn't have a wedding to hurry up and plan, Kat was there with a kiss at the finish line, and that's good enough for now.

Paris Hilton is used to things going her way, but 'The World According to Paris' may just be going away.

According to a report in Vulture, Oxygen plans to cancel the poorly-rated reality show after its first season.

The hotel heiress's show struggled to gain an audience from the get-go, averaging just 400,000 viewers per week. Perhaps a sign of trying economic times, the hijinks of a billionaire glamor-queen just didn't have the same mass-appeal as they once did.

Hilton generated headlines recently for reasons that were related to the show's failure. She abruptly walked out of an interview with 'Good Morning America's' Dan Harris after he asked if she was worried about the show's ratings, or that her cultural relevance may be fading. After walking out, Hilton returned to finish the interview.

On July 27, Kat Von D walked out on an interview with 'Good Day LA' (weekdays, 9AM PT on Fox), reportedly in a huff over questions about her former fiancée, reality TV star and motorcycle builder Jesse James. A month later, TLC canceled Kat's show'LA Ink,' on the same day she announced she was back together with James, leaving 'GDLA' anchor Dorothy Lucey to try to put the whole sideshow into some sort of context.

"She made up with Jesse James and she broke up with her TV show, all basically at the same time," said Lucey. Not only is Kat back together with James, the two are engaged again. Lucey went on to mention rumors that the couple had never broken up in the first place, and Kat's tweet yesterday which seemed to imply she quit the show, despite the official line that it was canceled.

Everyone loves a good prank, but when you pull a prank with a tattoo, that's a permanent joke, so you'd better hope it's a funny one. On 'LA Ink' (Thu., 10PM ET on TLC), Dan decided it was time to give Rooftop a little payback for all the grief he gives everyone in the tattoo shop all the time.

He's a regular hanging around and he's always cracking jokes at other people's expense, so Dan decided to teach him a bit of a lesson. Rooftop was looking for a tattoo of a heart with a banner that says "Mom." Well, Dan got it almost right.

Instead of "Mom," he put his own name into the tattoo. It was all the guys could do to keep it together long enough for Dan to finish his work and proudly show it to Rooftop.

Tattoos may last forever, but tattoo reality shows do not. Radar Online is reporting that 'LA Ink' has been canceled by TLC. The fourth season, currently airing, will be the the show's last hurrah.

"TLC has decided that the current season of 'LA Ink' will be its last. The network is proud of what the series has accomplished in its four seasons, following Kat Von D's journey as an artist from Miami to Los Angeles," the network told Radar in a statement.

The news comes after a messy, high-profile year for Kat Von D. She jumped into a relationship with Jesse James months after he had been through a very public cheating scandal with his ex-wife Sandra Bullock. In December, her house mysteriously burned down, killing her pet cat.

Then, in July, Von D and James called off their impending marriage and split. The timing of the break-up created an uncomfortable situation, as the network was already airing promos, and episodes, featuring her getting James' face tattooed on her rib cage.

We learned a lot this week. We finally saw how much jibberish the 'Real Housewives' can yell before Andy Cohen reached his breaking point. Jessica Alba learned that she can indeed have sex while pregnant. Gene Simmons learned the hard way that in order to propose to your long-time girlfriend, you must not be so exhausted that you can't form coherent sentences. Lady Gaga confirmed that a 'So You Think You Can Dance' contestant is actually talented. And Kat Von D taught us all the valuable lesson that it might not be the best idea to get a tattoo of Jesse James's face. Check out the clips after the jump, and vote for your favorite in our weekly poll.

Look for 'LA Ink' Season 4 to showcase Kat's many recent successes, including her gallery opening and whirlwind book tour, as well as a few troubled moments. Of course it wouldn't be 'LA Ink' without some drama.

No word on whether the show will tackle her recent relationship turmoil.

Jeff Wild determined that Von D must hate her father based on the men she's dating, while Jo Koy imagined how dimwitted and yet very civil their breakup must have been. But it was Natasha Leggero who provided the most intriguing insight.

"They're an interesting couple because they're both two hangers-on," she said. "There's no celebrity to anchor that relationship."

What would you do if your employee disappeared for a week? On the new 'LA Ink' (Wed., 10PM ET on TLC) tattoo artist "Paulie Tattoo" gets in trouble. Paulie certainly has the right name for the business. But what he lacks is the proper attitude.

Paulie left the American Electric tattoo parlor for a week's vacation in New York. But then he vanished for another week, missing work, and didn't even bother to call! Owner Craig Jackman is not pleased. Craig has two potential options here. He can have a nice little chat with Paulie. Or, he can just fire him.

Is getting "ink" a good idea or not? George Lopez must consider this question. He's 49 years old, and thus far, he has no tattoos. But all of that may change tonight.

On 'Lopez Tonight' (weeknights, 11PM ET on TBS), George talks with legendary tattoo artist Kat Von D. And she gives him a bunch of different options for works of art that he could have permanently inscribed into his skin. Here are some of the options:

A spin-off of 'Miami Ink,' which ended in 2008, 'L.A. Ink' follows tattoo artist Kat Von D at her High Voltage shop in West Hollywood. The show is currently averaging 1.4 million viewers per week. Those are impressive numbers, not just because they come from a cable-based show, but because it airs on Thursday nights at 10PM a hotbed of original programming on the Big Three and One-Third networks.

The numbers are also impressive, because 'L.A. Ink' comes from an older generation of TLC shows -- with four years equaling one television generation. With the network full of programs featuring height-challenged families, weight-challenged families and, soon enough, 18 hours of original Kate Gosselin programming, the show is able to maintain its popularity.

The always outspoken Margaret Cho has tackled issues of race, sexuality and weight in her stand-up comedy, and she was the first Asian-American female to have a sitcom in the U.S., 1994's short-lived 'All-American Girl.' Over the years Cho's brash sense of humor and outspoken support of gay rights have earned her a devoted following.

In the new Lifetime series 'Drop Dead Diva' (premieres Sunday, July 12), Cho plays the sidekick to a recently deceased model trapped in an overweight brainiac's body.

Cho talked to AOL TV about the ideals of beauty, why she thinks Miss California Carrie Prejean deserved to lose her crown and why she's saving her body for Kat Von D. -- By Katy Kroll